Cannes 2012: Haneke v Audiard, but no shows from Malick or PT Anderson

Cannes 2012 is shaping up to be an auteurs' reunion, with new films from old Croisette stagers such as Jacques Audiard, Ken Loach and Michael Haneke vying for this year's top honour, the Palme d'Or. Joining them in competiton are the likes of Walter Salles, Leos Carax, David Cronenberg, Thomas Vinterberg, Lee Daniels and Wes Anderson, whose Moonrise Kingdom is the first opening night film to be also in competition since 2008's Blindness.

Rust and Bone, the latest from Audiard, whose A Prophet won the Grand Prix in 2009, was long a shoo-in for a competition spot; ditto Haneke with Love, which reunites him with Piano Teacher Isabelle Huppert, and Abbas Kiarostami with Like Someone in Love. Matteo Garrone's followup to Gommorah is another welcome inclusion. Loach returns with The Angels' Share, a whisky heist film set in Scotland, larkier than his last Cannes winner, The Wind that Shakes the Barley.

On the Road, Walter Salles's adaptation of the Jack Kerouac novel, had been rumoured to screen at the festival last year. Holy Motors from Leos Carax was more of an outside bet for competition entry, likewise new films from new wave veteran Alain Resnais and Mexican maverick Carlos Reygadas. Cristian Mungiu and Ulrich Seidl bulk up the serious European wing.

But while some of those film-makers have enjoyed apparent promotion into the first grade of premieres, the converse appeared to have happened to Apichatpong Weerasethakul, whose ghost tragedy Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives took the top prize in 2010 but is a special screening this year.

The US presence at Cannes looks to be typically slight, with Lee Daniels' Paperboy (starring Zac Efron) leading the pack. Another Sundance alumni, Jeff Nichols, whose Take Shelter screened in Un Certain Regard last year, joins the competition lineup with Mud. Beasts of the Southern Wild, which wowed Sundance in January, has an Un Certain Regard spot. Killing Them Softly, a crime drama starring Brad Pitt and directed by New Zealander Andrew Dominik, is set in the States.

New films from Terrence Malick and Paul Thomas Anderson, which had been hoped to premiere in France, were not completed in time, according to festival director Thierry Frémaux. Woody Allen's latest, To Rome with Love, was not at time of writing included in the lineup, but it may be announced at a later date.

Out of competition is Derek Cianfrance's Blue Valentine followup, The Place Beyond the Pines, starring Ryan Gosling and Eva Mendes. Madagascar 3 looks to fill the regulation animation spot (previous toons to do the honours include Up and Kung Fu Panda).

David Cronenberg's Cosmopolis, starring Twilight's Robert Pattinson, was another hot tip for the competition, made yet hotter when a trailer for the film went live last night bearing the official Cannes selection badge.

After the Battle, Yousry Nasrallah's fictional representation of the aftermath of Egypt's revolution, looks to be the most politically incendiary title in competition.

Previously announced were the president of the Un Certain Regard jury (Tim Roth), the mistress of ceremonies (The Artist star Berenice Bejo) and the opening and closing night films: Moonrise Kingdom, Wes Anderson's 60s-set summer camp romance, will kick off the festival on 16 May. Festivities will wrap up 11 days later courtesy of Claude Miller, the French director who died earlier this month, shortly after the completion of his final film, Therese D. Starring Audrey Tautou, the movie will screen out of competition.

Yesterday, Variety revealed that also screening will be redux version of Sergio Leone's 1984 film Once Upon a Time in America, adding 40 minutes of footage to the 229-minute running time. The film was whittled down to 139 minutes, excluding several flashback sequences, for its US release.

The list diverges only slightly from a false lineup leaked at the start of the month. Festival president Frémaux was scathing about the report. "It's disgusting to play with such a thing," he told industry website Deadline. "There is a code of conduct for Cannes and it must be respected. Those who don't respect the code will never come back to Cannes."